...Regarding the flight deck overhang "support" - whether you're referring to the girder pillars or the girder-pattern aft gallery bulkhead - all were created by gluing Plastruct® HO-scale ladder down on plasticard plates (thick for the pillars), and when secure, sanding the ladder faces down until reaching the desired shallowness of pattern depth.

Thanks for the compliment on their appearance. Actually, there was quite a bit of variation between fantials of the various ships - and I don't even have an actual reference pic for Boxer herself - but I thought this pattern captured the right "look-&-feel" typical of all of the Essex faintails. This is what drove my (later) decision to mold it, ensuring you will see it again on my future Essex-class builds. (And maybe also on your own - if there is enough interest to justify releasing it as a Matty's Models product.)...